Saturday, September 2

Guam report

It's been a phenomenal week. Unfortunately the Internet access where we're house-sitting is on the fritz so I'm going through withdrawal. However, here is a quick sum:

...Cheryl now has two jobs. She is the central office business manager for PIBC. I'm not exactly sure what that means but it mostly has to do with the PELL grant money that our students receive. She will also be working for 15 hours per week as the secretary at the Guam United Methodist Church -- just down the road from PIBC in Mangilao. This is a part of the way that we are self-funding a portion of our mission project.

...I finished teaching the first week of classes. It's not easy starting from scratch. But the students are wonderful and the interaction has been good.

...Saturday was the primary gubernatorial election on Guam. I've never seen anything like the campaigning here. Parades, rallies, debates, and signs everywhere. Stateside politicians would be green with envy over the level of community participation, interaction, and lines at the polls. There were hundreds of people camped out across the street from each of the polling sites -- holding rallies, calling to arriving voters over megaphones, waving to passing motorists -- all day Saturday. It's a massive political tailgater. Amazingly, with so much political passion the whole thing is pretty civil.

I would have no trouble voting for either of the gubernatorial candidates who won spots on the November ballot. It's great when you get to pick from two outstanding leaders rather than feeling like you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

...Our Turlock house is still unsold. But that hasn't stopped us from looking around on the north part of the Island. This is not a cheap place to live and there isn't a lot on the market.

...Our cargo container is on Island. We cleared it through customs on Friday and it is supposed to be delivered on Tuesday.